Nigeria’s immediate past Senate President, David Mark, has been linked to at least eight offshore companies in the British Virgin Island in a secret assets scam released by a German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The German newspaper had on Monday released the Panama Papers, the biggest leak in the history of data journalism, publishing online 11.5 million documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which showed how prominent people including the family of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, a former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, Argentinian footballer, Lionel Messi and criminals hid money using anonymous shell corporations across the world.
The Panamanian law firm, regarded as one of the world’s most secretive companies, according to the documents, has helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax.
The data was obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists with over 100 other media partners in 82 countries.
Files seen by online medium, Premium Times, show the eight offshore companies traced to Mark are Sikera Overseas S.A, Colsan Enterprises Limited, Goldwin Transworld Limited, Hartland Estates Limited, Marlin Holdings Limited, Medley Holdings Limited, Quetta Properties Limited, and Centenary Holdings Limited.
It was, however, unclear as to what business dealings Mark had with the companies.
Online newspaper Premium Times quoted a previous investigation it conducted as showing that Mark’s estranged wife, Vikky Preye Mark, was also exposed as an operator of secret offshore accounts.
Mrs. Mark operated an account with the Swiss branch of HSBC, but with details made largely secret.
Although she was known within the bank as the beneficial owner of the account, she was largely identified with a secret code – 14312MP.
Mrs. Mark opened the account on December 18, 1989 and closed it on July 12, 1991. About that time, her husband, then a top ranking army officer, had served as military administrator of Niger State and minister of Communications.
Court papers during a messy divorce with his wife suggested that some of Mark’s children schooled in Switzerland, but it is not clear whether it was during that period that Mrs. Mark operated the HSBC account.
The court papers also showed that the Marks operated foreign accounts elsewhere.
About six million pounds in four accounts – three at the Northern Bank, Isle of Man, and one at the Allied Irish Bank, Jersey – were frozen in October 2000 as a result of the ancillary relief sought by Victoria Mark in the couple’s divorce case.
If proven that he ran the accounts, the senator may have run foul of the law.
Part 1, Section 7 of the Code of Conduct law provides that “any public officer specified in the Second Schedule to this Act or any other persons as the President may, from time to time, by order prescribe, shall not maintain or operate a bank account in any country outside Nigeria”.
Section 23 of the Code of Conduct law stipulates punishment for violators as follows:
(1) Where the (Code of Conduct) Tribunal finds a public officer guilty of contravening any of the provisions of this Act, it shall impose upon that officer any of the punishments specified under subsection (2) of this section.
(2) The punishment which the Tribunal may impose shall include any of the following-
(a) vacation of office or any elective or nominated office, as the case may be; and
(b) disqualification from holding any public office (whether elective or not) for a period not exceeding ten years.
The former senate president could not be reached for comments yesterday.
Attempts to get Mark’s reaction to his alleged involvement in the Panama assets scam failed on Tuesday as his Media Assistant, Paul Mumeh, failed to pick his calls while he did not also respond to the text message sent to him.
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